Whispers In Shadows

03

Harriett a.k.a Ms. Offended was immediately rushed to the school clinic after seconds and she still hasn't woken up. She was unconscious from what I did.

But of course, I won't admit that I did it intentionally.

"Oh, God. How was she? I'm sorry po, I didn't know the ball would go in her direction," I talked to one of our teachers, faking a concern.

"Don't worry hija, she'll be fine. She just needs a rest for now," it was the school nurse who answered.

"Thanks, God," I said. I was dismissed after that.

"I saw what you did there," Dan suddenly spoke. He was outside the clinic, probably waiting for me.

"What are you saying?" I asked, acting clueless.

Dan smirked and walked me away from the clinic, his arm was all over my shoulder.

"Come on, Alexa. I know the devil in you," he said. I pushed him away.

"I don't have any idea what you are saying, Dan. Stop blubbering nonsense," I answered.

I will never admit anything, even it was him! Mamaya ay ilaglag pa ako nito kay Papa Ae.

Dan laughed and shrugged. "Go on and deny it," he said before walking away, leaving me alone in the hallway.

I just ignored him and what he said and went straight to the locker's room to change. After that, I went to my classroom.

Everyone was looking at me as soon as I stepped inside. Some stopped from what they were doing just to look at me but most of them were talking while watching me, they were probably talking about me.

Huh! Too early for this attention.

"Hey, girl," someone approached me. She looks badass.

"Yeah?" I asked bored.

"You were good back there. You literally knocked Harriett off," she said.

"There was nothing good about that," I answered, ducking on my desk.

I'm not in the mood to talk about that. And as much as possible, I wanted to look guilty but if they keep on opening it to me like it was some kind of a good deed, I might start bitching out and forget that I was pretending.

"You think?" The girl still said.

I didn't move nor speak, I just let her and waited for her to leave. She did, but before that, she said something I don't really care about.

"You just opened the door to hell," she said.

I rolled my eyes to myself.

Door to hell my ass. They think they can scare me? Huh. They should have met my father.

"I can't believe you did that!" Dionne blurted.

We were inside their van, waiting for Dan so we could finally go home.

She asked me what happened in our gym class and I couldn't lie to her so I admitted that I intentionally directed the ball to Harriett's head.

"I actually didn't know what got to me, I just felt so fed up from her being a bully to our team," I answered.

"I knew you were up to something back there but I didn't expect that you'd hit her," Keith said coolly.

"Well, she deserves that. She's been bitching since grade seven! Now she found her match!" Dionne said.

"But she will probably get back to you. That girl never accepts defeat," Keith said again.

I shrugged. "I don't care."

"Sus! You don't have to worry, A. We got your back," Dionne said.

I didn't say anything. I just scroll through my f*******: feed. I've been receiving a lot of friend requests since this afternoon which I just ignored.

"Huh! Look at this," Dionne said while showing her phone to us.

It was a picture of Harriett while being rushed to the clinic.

'The queen has been knocked out'. The caption says,

"Gosh. These dumbasses are making the incident a big issue," Dionne said again.

"It was not an incident, though," Keith said.

"Only us knew that, girl," Dionne answered.

I didn't comment on that for them to stop and they did. We stayed quiet inside the van until Dan came and we were on our way home.

"You're not going home yet?" Dionne asked when I stayed in their house instead of heading home.

"Papa Ae has a meeting until dinner, he told me to stay here until he picks me up," I answered.

Dionne suddenly squealed. "Great! Let's try on my new makeup!" She excitedly said.

"I'm excluding myself from that," Keith immediately said.

"You're so killjoy, K! Look at you, no wonder why you were always mistaken for a tomboy!" Dionne said.

"Are you insulting me?" Keith asked.

"No, I'm not! I'm saying that you look tomboy!"

"Why are you shouting?" Keith asked again.

I just shook my head and left them bickering in the living room. I went straight to their kitchen to grab something to drink but Dan was already there, drinking a can of soda.

"Ang damot mo talaga, 'di man lang nang alok sa labas," sabi ko.

Dan raised his brow. "Aalukin pa kayo, e nakakapunta naman kayo rito kahit 'di nag papaalam," he answered.

"Kahit na, masama pa rin ugali mo," I said.

I opened their fridge and took out three cans of soda.

"Where's ninang?" I asked. Their house was weirdly quiet.

"Office," he simply answered.

"Dashiel?" I asked again.

"Boarding house and you should call him Kuya Dashiel not just Dashiel," he told me.

I rolled my eyes. "It was like calling you Kuya as well," I said.

Dan made a face. "Maldita mo talaga," he said and I just laughed.

"Your brother was quite weird," I said.

"It's because he was traumatized," he answered.

I knew that.

"Aren't we all?" I asked.

Dan's father and my were best friends, they were partners in all crimes; figuratively and literally. And us, we are the most victims of our fathers' cruelty and craziness.

"Kuya's the most affected of all of us because he witnessed it all; from the day our dad was arrested until they were convicted," he said.

Our fathers were criminals. Dan's dad abducted and raped Ninang Sierra until they had Dashiel, he also impregnated Dan's biological mom, and killed someone. While my dad, aside from being an accomplice of Ninong Damien's crimes, he also killed someone, my biological mom's best friend, Keith Aldrix Conception.

What a f****d up family!

But I still consider them lucky, because they still have a complete family despite their father being locked up in jail. Unlike me who never met her mother and is now growing up with her mom's other best friend because my dad is also in jail.

I envy them for having a happy family, something I will never have nor experience.

"He won't be genuinely happy if he keeps on locking himself in that trauma," I said before turning my back and heading back to their living room.

"That's the same with planting grudges over someone who's loving you with his all," he said before I vanished on his sight.

I turned to face him again, brow arched. "You're wrong, that's different. Moving on to something that hinders you from being happy is different from staying away from someone who has hurt you too much, from someone who has lied to you all your life," I said.

Dan smirked. "Kuya isn't like you, Alexandria. He knows when he will forgive and he always tries to understand everything before giving judgment," she said.

"I will give whatever judgment I want because this is myself," I answered before turning my back again.

I leave him their and didn't look back again. Madalas talaga ay nakakairitang kausap ang Dandrev na iyon, masyadong feeling matalino.

Papa Ae came after dinner to pick me up. I headed straight to my room when we got home and when I was about to sleep, Papa Ae came.

"Yes, Pa?" I asked, he said he wanted to talk to me.

"I just want to remind you that it's your tatay's birthday this coming weekend. I won't be here so I'm hoping you could visit him that day," he said.

"I don't want po," I said.

"Alexa, until when are you going to be like that?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Until I die, I guess."

"Come on, Alexa. Your dad is still your dad. Stop blaming him for your mom's death," he said.

I looked at him and creased my brows. How could he say that? He witnessed how bad that man was to my mom! He was there when she was suffering!

"My mom died because of him," I said.

Papa shook his head. "No. Your mom died because she was ill, she had cancer. Your dad has nothing to do with your mom's death."

"But she suffered a lot because she chose to love him!"

"And what brought her? You. You were proof that once in your mom's life, she loved and was loved. Stop being a brat Maria Alexandria, I am not raising you to be like that," he said.

I chose to not speak more or else I will cry. Though I wanted to tell him that all my mom got from loving that man was pain, that until her last breath, she was still in pain.

"I'm expecting you to be in your best behavior, Alexa. That's all I'm asking," Papa said before leaving my room.

That night, I slept with a heavy heart. I couldn't understand why they keep on dictating to me on how I should treat that man, can't they just let me?

I'm hurt, is that hard to understand?

"Alexandria!" Lucia called for me from the hallway, I was about to enter our classroom.

I stopped and waited until she was beside me.

"Hi!" she beamed.

I arched my brow. "What's your problem?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I'm just happy to see you," she answered.

I crossed my arms, "Do you like me? Tomboy ka ba?"

Her eyes widened with my questions. "Hala! Grabe ka naman, hindi ako tomboy 'no. Masaya lang talaga akong makita ka," she said.

"You're weird," I said and opened the door of our classroom. And as I did, a powder poured from above my head and covered from my head until half of my body.

"Hala!" Lucia immediately came to me and wiped my uniform.

I roamed my sight inside our classroom and saw some of our classmates were laughing but most were indifferent. And there's Harriett and that girl who spoke to me the other day; Harriett showed me her poker face and the Powerpuff girls, as I want to address them, were all smirking.

"Punta na tayo sa locker room, magpalit ka na habang hindi pa time," Lucia told me.

I smirked to Harriett before nodding to Lucia.

"Loser," I mouthed

They think I will back down? They have to think again. I have experienced worse than that and I never surrendered.

"My extra uniform ka ba?" Lucia asked once we got to the locker room.

I shook my head and took out my phone. "I will ask my friend to bring me one," I said.

I called Dionne and she answered after two rings.

"Yes, girl?" She answered.

"I need an extra uniform, do you have a spare?"

"What happened?" She asked.

"Just got my uniform dirty," I answered.

Dionne came after 5 minutes. She was catching her breath when she came.

"Oh, god! Who the hell did that to you?" She blurted.

I shrugged.

"Si Harriett ba?" She asked again, looking at Lucia.

"Hindi namin alam, pero tumatawa yung mga bruha niyang friends, so baka?" Lucia answered.

"Gosh, humanda sila sa akin," Dionne said.

I shook my head. "I can handle this alone, D. No need to involve yourself," I said.

"What? No, A! Pagtutulungan ka nila for sure," she said.

I shrugged again. "Believe me, I can do this by myself," I said.

Dionne pouted but didn't stop from murmuring. "I will tell this to Kuya," she said.

"Dashiel?" I asked.

What that weird guy can do?

"No! Kuya Dan," she answered as she crossed her arms to her chest.

"You don't call him Kuya, D."

"Not when it's important," she said.

I just shook my head and let her murmur more.